Who is Hengist of Woodcroft?

Hi! My name is Arianhrod and I’m a guest writer for today. I’m an online Potter fanatic friend of Kristin’s, and she asked me to write a piece on Hengist of Woodcroft and his connection to magic. We were talking about Chocolate Frog Cards and this came up, so here I am! This is my first ever attempt at posting in a blog of any kind, so bear with me!

JK Rowling is a master (or mistress!) of hiding potentially valuable information in places where we would least expect it. In the very first book, the introduction of the Chocolate Frog Cards, or Wizard Trading Cards, contained a vital clue to the identity of Nicholas Flamel. We learned that Flamel was the partner of Dumbledore, with whom he continued his studies in alchemy. We also know that Flamel is no fictional invention of Rowling’s; his life is well-documented and there is no doubt that he existed.

What, then, of some of the other people mentioned on the cards? Merlin and Morgana are well-known from the Arthurian legends, but what about some of the others?

The Harry Potter Lexicon, under Hengist of Woodcroft’s card information, admits that it has no idea why he should be included since he appears to have had nothing to do with magic other than founding Hogsmeade. I believe I can give a possible—but by no means certain–answer to that question!

No dates are given for Hengist of Woodcroft, so we need to do some research to track him down. Hengist was a legendary Saxon/Jute king of the modern county of Kent who was hired by Vortigern to help rid Britain of the Scots and Picts. In return for his help, King Vortigern granted Hengist and his brother Horsa lands on what became known as the Saxon Shore. The Saxons outwitted Vortigern into getting as much land as they could. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain:

“Hengest said to Vortigern. . .’Take my advice, and you will never fear conquest by any man or any people, for my people are strong. I will invite my son and his cousin to fight against the Irish, for they are fine warriors.'”

And that is exactly what Hengist did. Following his victories, Hengist invited more and more of his people to join him in colonizing the lands he had been given, but for a long while peace reigned and there was no trouble between the Saxons and the British. However, one night, at a celebratory feast, a drunken Vortigern fell in love with Hengist’s beautiful daughter, Rowena. Vortigern promised Hengist anything he asked, as long as he could have Rowena as his wife.

Rowena Ravenclaw, perhaps?

Hengist readily agreed to the marriage. The price for Rowena’s hand was the kingdom of Ceint, now modern Kent.

As time passed, many Britons became disenchanted with Vortigern—the Saxons were arriving in vast hordes, and nothing the Britons did could keep them out. He was loathed and reviled as a brutal dictator who betrayed his people and let the invaders in. One of the most outspoken opponents of Vortigern’s foreign policy was his own son, Vortimer. After Vortigern’s marriage to Rowena, Vortimer declared himself a rival leader and raised his own army to fight the Saxons, with some degree of success. However, he was killed when Rowena poisoned him. There are conflicting versions of Vortigern’s fate; one of the most persistent says that Uther Pendragon killed him. It’s interesting to note that Vortigern’s first wife was Severa, the daughter of Emperor Magnus Maximus, or Macsen Wledig. Readers familiar with the Arthurian legends and the Welsh Mabinogion will recognize Macsen’s name from the tale The Dream of Macsen Wledig, which gives a fantastic description of the Celtic Otherworld.

After Vortimer’s death, the Saxons demanded more food and clothing to help them support their growing numbers. Vortigern refused, and Hengist was furious. Nennius tells us that “they [the Saxons] took counsel with their elders to break the peace.” The war that ensued lasted many, many years.

Now, the burning question is this: Are Vortigern’s Rowena and Rowena Ravenclaw one and the same person? Possible, but there is one problem. The timeline doesn’t match up. Hengist supposedly lived in the 5th century , nearly five hundred years before the founding of Hogwarts. However, that doesn’t mean that Hengist and Rowena weren’t Ravenclaw’s ancestors. Also, wizards have fantastically long life spans. Is it possible that Ravenclaw could have lived so long? The sorting hat, in another song, does describe her as “old”.

Hogwarts was founded sometime in the 10th century, which puts it squarely in the timeframe for the Viking invasions of Britain. Surprisingly, there is another Hengist, this one a Dane who dates from Canute’s time—and this is in the right time period for the foundation of Hogwarts. It may be that it is this Hengist who is the father of Rowena, and it appears that the two Hengists are related. One of the tourist attractions in the area around Woodcroft, in Dorset, United Kingdom, is Hengistbury Head:

“Excavations in the 1970’s pointed to the head being occupied continually from the Stone-Age to Roman times. Information boards give details of this period and of the numerous coins and pottery unearthed from differing periods.”

The area was originally named Hynesbury Head or Hedenesburia, but legend has it that it was renamed after Hengist, king of the Jutes.

There are only two literary references that I could find to any character named Rowena. Rowena first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain, which is dated to the twelfth century. Since Hogwarts was founded “a thousand years ago”, the name itself predates Geoffrey by some three hundred years and may well have taken the form Ronwen or Rhonwen. Other forms of the name include Rouwenne, Rouuenne, Rouwen, Reowen, Rowenne, and Rowen. The name “Rowena” appears to be of Welsh origin from the word rhon ‘spear, lance’ + (g)wen ‘bright’; however, this has never been proven and there are other possible derivations. (Arthur’s great spear was named Rhon or Rhongowennan) Or Rowena may simply be the feminine form of Rowan, which is a wood that has always been considered an excellent choice for wand-making.

The second reference is from Sir Walter Scott’s classic story Ivanhoe. This Rowena is Ivanhoe’s true love, promised to another man. (If you didn’t read this in school, I highly recommend it!)

The Sorting Hat description of Rowena Ravenclaw leads us to believe that she was a beautiful woman: she is said to be “fair”, which is another word for “pretty” or “beautiful”. John Lesslie Hall’s great poem The Lady Rowena gives a glowing account of Rowena’s beauty:

[…] Sweetest to Hengist
Of all that had come o’er the cup of the billows,
O’er the mingling of waters, westward and southward,
Was the lady Rowena, the lovely, beautiful,
Gem-brilliant maiden, jewel and darling
Of Hengist the hero: the harp and the gleeman
Have sung for ages the elf-bright folk-maiden’s
Beauty and loveliness. Broad her renown is;
Forever and ever England shall honor her
As first of her fair-haired, fond-lovèd myriads
Of beautiful maidens, mothers and daughters
And sisters of heroes: the sweet-toned harp,
Joy-wood belovèd, long shall continue
To sing her glory in saga and story,
Lovely, illustrious lady Rowena,
Leading the line of belovèd, winsome
Women of England, elf-brightest, purest […]

That’s about the highest praise a woman can get for her beauty!

Connecting the dots from Rowena to Ravenclaw has been a real challenge. As I mentioned earlier, Rowena was said to have poisoned Vortimer, son of Vortigern and Severa. The Welsh Triads speak of the Three Goodly Concealments:

First the head of Bendigeid Vran ab Llyr [Bran], which Owain the son of Macsen Wledig [Maximus] buried under the White Tower in London, and while it was so placed no invasion could be made upon this Island;

the second was the bones of Gwrthevyr the Blessed [Vortimer], which were buried in the chief harbour of the Island, and while they remained there hidden all invasions were ineffectual.
The third was the dragons buried by Lludd ab Beli, in the city of Pharaon, in the rocks of Snowdon.

And the three closures were made under the blessing of God and his attributes, and evil befell from the time of their disclosure. Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu [Vortigern], disclosed the dragons to revenge the displeasure of the Cymry against him, and he invited the Saxons in the guise of men of defence to fight against the Gwyddyl Ffychti; and after this he disclosed the bones of Gwrthevyr the Blessed, through love of Ronwen [Rowena], the daughter of the Saxon Hengist. And Arthur disclosed the head of Bendigeid Vran ab Llyr, because he chose not to hold the Island except by his own strength. And after the three disclosures came the chief invasions upon the race of the Cymry.

Bran the Blessed is forever linked with the Tower of London, and hence its ravens. Legend has it that if the ravens fly away, the Tower will crumble and great disaster will befall Britain. Admittedly, it’s a long shot to connect Rowena with Bran, but another possibility for the surname Ravenclaw may be almost too obvious. In the Welsh versions of the Arthurian legends, in which Rowena appears, all of the women of power and importance are described as having red cheeks, milk white skin, and raven-black hair. (This is the alchemical tria of black, white, and red.) The women in the Continental stories are usually fair haired and fair skinned. Since Rowena is most likely a Welsh name, the Welsh writers would give her attributes they would normally ascribe to their own women, especially if she was powerful in some way.

In Thelwall’s melodrama The Fairy of the Lake (1801), Rowena was in love with Arthur, even though she was married to Vortigern. According to Cornish folklore, when Arthur died, his soul was carried to the Otherworld by a raven. In fact, throughout Celtic and Arthurian literature, “raven-women” often appear, usually as a goddess in disguise. The Morrigan herself appeared to the great Irish hero Cuchulainn and often appeared in bird form above battlefields.

Hall, in The Lady Rowena, describes the marriage of Rowena and Vortigern. In this account, Hengist boasts of his great sword, called Homeralaf. Hengist says of his sword:

To Homeralaf, belovèd, faithful
Heirloom of ages: I will e’er give him
Thanks and praises, for he proved in the battle
Most mighty of helpers. Hear when I tell you
That ‘t was my dear sword that safely hath brought us
Through thick and through thin: thank him forever,
Best of all battle-swords.

So Hengist had a great sword that he treasured as much as he did his daughter. Now, call me crazy, but I am wondering if we aren’t barking up the wrong tree by focusing on a wand as the Ravenclaw relic. On Hengist’s death, Rowena would have taken her father’s sword. Is it possible that it is her sword, and not Gryffindor’s, that is a Horcrux? It was a prized family heirloom, one that Rowena would have protected at all costs. If she didn’t take it, it is likely that her brother Octa did, and it passed down the generations as a valuable relic.

So, how does this fit into our Horcrux Hunt? Ravenclaw represents the element of air while Gryffindor represents fire. According to Hallows tradition, the element of air is represented by a sword while the element of fire is represented by a spear or lance (or wand)! This makes sense in terms of Harry Potter and JKR’s assignment of the relics to their respective elements. By rights, Hufflepuff’s relic should be the locket, for the locket is element earth. The cup should be Slytherin’s, because the cup symbolizes water. (As an aside, Hall describes a scene in which Rowena is carrying a great chalice, but that would be complicating things unnecessarily. Rowling makes it clear in Half Blood Prince that the Hufflepuff artifact is in fact a cup.)

We only need to find three of the four. We need to find a relic of Hufflepuff (cup), Slytherin (locket) and EITHER an item of Gryffindor OR Ravenclaw. We don’t need to find both, so it is entirely possible that the sword is in fact Rowena’s and not Godric’s. We know from Dumbledore that Godric’s sword is safe, but perhaps that was never meant to be a Horcrux in the first place. In either case, we are looking for either a wand or a sword, but not both.

I will go one step further and propose a possible location for the sword itself. Since Hengist is credited with founding Hogsmeade, Rowena would have been very familiar with the area. It may have been one of the reasons Hogwarts is so nearby! In any case, the sword may either be in the village itself or in the castle. Perhaps it wasn’t Gryffindor’s sword Voldemort was after when he visited Dumbledore in Half Blood Prince, but Ravenclaw’s, and it is in The Three Broomsticks, where Hengist of Woodcroft was said to have lived.